ipl-logo

Socrates Search For Justice In Plato's Republic

1129 Words5 Pages

The Republic centers on two questions: what is justice and is it better to live justly or unjustly. The puzzles of defining justice in Book I prompt Socrates to search for justice in a different way. He creates a city, which not only helps him locate justice but also allows him to assert his ideas on the best ruler. While it may seem self-serving for Plato to choose a philosopher to rule, his claims make an opposing view difficult to justify. Genuine philosophers “strive above all for truth of every kind” and become temperate, wise, courageous, and just leaders. If such a person exists than is seems illogical to argue for anyone other than a philosopher to rule.
The difficulty of defining justice emerges first in the character of Cephalus. …show more content…

Philosophers are “lovers of seeing the truth” (4903). As a result, they possess a love for wisdom above all earthly pleasures such as wealth or fame. Additionally, unlike non-philosophers, they seek to know and come to know many things by their nature for, “philosophic natures always love the sort of learning that makes clear to them some feature of the being that always is and does not wander around between coming-to be and decaying.” Therefore, they not only hold opinions about many things but they know the truth about them because they know their nature (pg 8 commentary) Thus, Socrates argues because they know the truth about many things they will rule according to what is truly …show more content…

What’s most important, Defenders of Democracy suppose, is that the leader be elected by the people. In other words, the most important thing is that the leader be chosen democratically. That’s the best way to guarantee that the community has a good leader, or so Defenders of Democracy allege. However, to refute this rebuttal, I think Socrates would establish common ground with Defenders of Democracy. The first premise would be that the population is not composed of purely rationally led people; they possess strengths that aid the country but they also hold weak, appetite lead parts. The second premise would be that people vote for the candidate that agrees the most with their viewpoints; otherwise voting would make no sense. Thus, if they vote for someone with the same viewpoint, they elect someone who also has similar weakened appetites. A leader as such would only serve to the appetites of some and neglect those who have differing opinions. Consequently, Defenders of Democracy must face whether the should be led country by one who seeks what is true and good for all (a philosopher) or by one who shares the weaknesses of the majority and puts the minority in

Show More
Related

Comparing Plato And Iris Young's 'The Myth Of Merit'

1406 Words | 6 Pages

In the Republic, Plato gives an extensive theory of justice. Three classes exist, rulers (legislators/deliberates), auxilaries (enforcers), and producers. What God has mixed into one's own soul decides, whether it is gold, silver, or iron/bronze, decides what class one belong's in. Each one of these classes has the potential to best develop a

Read More

Socrates Argue Of Justice In Plato's Republic

342 Words | 2 Pages

the Republic, Socrates argues that justice ought to be valued both for its own sake and for the sake of its consequences (358a1–3). His interlocutors Glaucon and Adeimantus have reported a number of arguments to the effect that the value of justice lies purely in the rewards and reputation that are the usual consequence of being seen to be just, and have asked Socrates to say what justice is and to show that justice is always intrinsically better than is acting contrary to justice when doing so would win you more non-moral goods. Glaucon presents these arguments as renewing Thrasymachus’ Book 1 position that justice is “another’s good” (358b–c, cf. 343c), which Thrasymachus had associated with the claim that the rulers in any constitution frame

Read More

Comparing Socrates In The Apology, Crito, And The Republic

802 Words | 4 Pages

Comparing Socrates words in the Republic for the philosopher to rule to the words of the Apology where philosophy is viewed as something that is punishable by death, this is where the defense or importance of philosophy is realized. For if the philosophers were the ones to rule, nobody would question whether or not what they were doing was right or wrong because the philosopher-kings make the rules through wisdom and knowledge. Plato wants to paint a portrait of the philosopher as not only something the city should want to have, but also as someone who would be fit to rule above all others. This contrasts, again, to the points made by the jurors to Socrates in the Apology for they saw Socrates as someone who brings the city

Read More

Socrates Vs. Unjust One In Plato's The Republic

643 Words | 3 Pages

In Plato’s, The Republic, Book I, Socrates tries to prove to Thrasymachus “whether just people also live better and are happier than unjust ones” (352d). He argues that everything has a predisposed proficiency at a function, and that this functions are performed well by the peculiar virtue and badly by means of its vice (353a-353d) . The point of this paper is to present Socrates argument and evaluate it to the best of my ability. This argument can be categorized as an inductive generalization. Socrates states that the function of anything is what it alone can do or what it does best.

Read More

Analysis Of Letter From A Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King, Jr.

1552 Words | 7 Pages

King and Socrates both appeal to a higher notion of justice that they see as universal and uninfluenced by the people’s opinions. It is important, however, to note that in King’s view, majority-minority politics inform our interpretation of this standard of justice. Although the majority-minority dynamic plays no role in the formulation of this standard which, as a “law of God,” is predetermined, in King’s view this dynamic informs our application of the

Read More

Argument Of Justice In Plato's Book 1 Of The Republic

732 Words | 3 Pages

He uses the example of ruling a city, where a government would change the rules and laws to best suit them, and as the rules are followed by those who act justly, the just would be acting in the favour of the stronger. Socrates objects to this and claims that humans will make mistake, as that is part of being human, and may

Read More

Private Life In Socrates's Apology

1021 Words | 5 Pages

It is challenging to lead a private life while truly fighting for justice. A man can fight for justice through examining the greatest issues in human nature that Socrates found essential to the private life. However, this knowledge can have the biggest effect when brought into the public life such as through teachings. These two things can then combine to reflect how the state should be changed. Socrates sometimes crossed this line himself, even if unknowingly.

Read More

Socrates: Plato's Decision To Accepting The Death Penalty

1434 Words | 6 Pages

Therefore, since Athens has a part to play in corrupting Socrates’s life as well as his mistaken visual of the truth, Socrates must understand that by obeying the state, he has done injustice to his soul for it will not be in true harmony. Furthermore he will be doing an injustice to the state because Plato would have established that, objectively, Athens laws are unjust and even if Socrates thinks that they are just, it is only because Socrates has been corrupted by

Read More

Socrates Definitions Of Justice In Plato's The Republic

1169 Words | 5 Pages

According to Socrates there are two types of justice, the political justice and the justice of a particular man. As we know, city is bigger than a man. Socrates believes that it is easier to find justice at the political level which means in the city, thus he tries to define a just city from scrap, and will see in which stage justice enters. Also, Socrates tries to find justice in the city before finding justice in the individuals because individuals are not at all self-sufficient. We humans have similar needs such as food, clothing and shelter and in order to accomplish these goals human beings form unions, where each and every individual specializes in a field.

Read More

Plato's Republic: Just Or Unjust?

832 Words | 4 Pages

Plato's Republic is centered on one simple question: is it always better to be just than unjust? This is something that Socrates addresses both in terms of political communities and the individual person. Plato argues that being just is advantageous to the individual independent of any societal benefits that the individual may incur in virtue of being just. I feel as if Plato’s argument is problematic. There are not enough compelling reasons to make this argument.

Read More

The Importance Of Arete In Ancient Greece

1134 Words | 5 Pages

While some, like Plato in his The Republic, thought it weak to give government into the hands of the common people, Pericles countered this argument with a compelling argument of greatness. By putting government into the hands of the people, the people are united and more devoted to their country. Democracy bonds the people together in a way that no other government can understand. Pericles confidently states, “Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes.”

Read More

Socrates Rhetorical Analysis

465 Words | 2 Pages

The source of Socrates’ suspicion of democracy stems from the argument that the general public is ignorant and therefore lacks the knowledge or reason to make the best decision for government and electing officials. The foundation of democracy is based on majority rule, however because the majority is unaware of what truly is good for them, by virtue of their ignorance, the masses are not capable of electing a leaders fit to run the state or government. Socrates contends that due to the general public’s ignorance, the majority will vote in favor of what and who panders to their desires and wants rather than what is logical and better for their souls (459b). Because the general public is ignorant, those who have the knack of oratory pander to the desires of the masses and therefore the consequence of democracy is inherent corruption in the governing structure. Socrates contends that the art of

Read More

The Noble Lie In Plato's The Republic

1355 Words | 6 Pages

What is justice? This is the crucial question that Plato attempts to answer in his dialogue, The Republic. He conjures up an allegory that justice can be found in a person, and a person can represent a city. Thus, his entire dialogue focuses on this ‘just’ city and the mechanics of how the city would operate. His dialogue covers a myriad of topics about justice in addition to the human soul, politics, goodness and truth.

Read More

Injustice In Socrates 'Bail Trap'

1130 Words | 5 Pages

In Plato’s Republic, Book II, through one of Socrates’ listeners, Glaucon, we discover through reason the meaning of being just. Being just is a temporary act that one puts on such as a social mask, no one can purely be just but if one thinks that they are then that implies that they are exceedingly unjust. In today’s government, during this past election, we elected a government official knowing that they are unjust because it was simply a lesser of two evils. This is comparable to Glaucon’s definition that justice is a compromise between what is injustice with oneself and to others. With the idea of injustices present in different branches of todays government, you are able to see the corruption that falls within.

Read More

Just Society In Plato's Republic

943 Words | 4 Pages

In Book IV of Plato’s Republic, Socrates and his peers come to the conclusion that a city is going to need people who have an understanding of what justice should be. Socrates at the end of Book IV can make the difference between individual, political, and social justice. He knows that individual and political justice is so much in common because they both weigh in heavy on truth, honor, and appetitive soul. That appetitive soul is an element that helps the secure the just community with love and support.

Read More

More about Socrates Search For Justice In Plato's Republic

Related Topics

Open Document